A Rose By Any Other Name
by AStephens1971
Summary: Post-1982 movie. The Warbucks mansion is abuzz as Daddy Warbucks and Miss Farrell prepare to get married...but is all well?
1. A Rose By Any Other Name

Some time after the fuss over Annie's adoption had died down, the new Miss Warbucks was walking out in the front gardens with Grace. The gardener (the same one who had so skillfully climbed the trellis to hand her a cut flower upon her arrival) looked up and waved with a friendly smile. "Well, hello, Miss Annie," he called.

Annie and Grace turned, acknowledging the greeting. "Hello, Gardner," Annie called back. "Beautiful day, isn't it?"

" 'Annie' day is beautiful now that you're here for good," he replied, chuckling at his own pun, presenting her with a white carnation.

"Annie," Grace said, turning to her, "I guess I forgot to mention that Gardner will coordinate with Mrs. Pugh and Drake to have fresh flowers available for you every morning."

"Whatever you desire," Gardner said, motioning with his hand to the wide array of flowers at his disposal. "Just name it, and it's yours."

Annie just smiled, taking in the carnation's scent. "Thank you, Gardner," she whispered. Looking around, she spotted the most beautiful bushes of roses she had ever seen—roses of every variety, size, and color. "Roses," she decided. "I do love roses."

Standing, Gardner smiled and bowed. "Roses it is," he laughed. "Your wish is my command."

Annie just giggled. If they had grown to love her since her arrival, she returned the sentiment tenfold—especially to Gardner, who had risked life and limb to make her feel welcome.

And so it was. When Drake brought her tray every morning, there was a little vase of roses on it, which, when she rang for Mrs. Pugh, she just smiled and transferred the vase to her bedside table. On occasion, Gardner himself sauntered into the room to replace the quickly wilting roses with a fresh variety, with a hug and sometimes a kiss for Annie.

Meanwhile, there was an air of excitement around the mansion. Grace just seemed to float around the mansion, humming softly, though Annie couldn't figure out what—or why. It was only after dinner that night that all was revealed:

"May I have your attention, please," Mr. Warbucks announced, clinking his glass. When all eyes had focused on him, he just smiled, drawing Grace near. "I am the happiest man in the world," he added, his voice dropping to a whisper. "I have just asked for Miss Farrell's hand—and she has accepted."

Asked…for her _hand_? What—whatever did he mean?

Grace took Annie's hand and helped her join them. "Annie," she laughed, "your father—well, he—he has asked me—" Her eyes filled with tears and she found it hard to continue. When she had regained her composure, she added, "he—he has asked me to marry him."

_Marry_ him? Did—did that mean…?

"Annie," Mr. Warbucks smiled and put his own arm around her, "how would you like Miss Farrell to be your mother?"

Her _mother_! From the time she first arrived, they were the best of friends, but never—never in her wildest dreams did she ever think—

"Leapin' lizards!" Annie could not contain her excitement. Throwing her arms around Grace, she added, "I would _love_ that!"

Laughing, Grace picked her up and held her close. If it hadn't hit Annie when Mr. Warbucks adopted her, it did then—now she had a real family, with a father, and soon, a mother, who doted on her!

Things were quickly taking shape, and yet she noticed—

When Drake brought her tray in the mornings, she began to see other flowers, instead of her beloved roses, by her meal. This bothered her no end—did—did Gardner forget her request?

When she rang for clearance, Mrs. Pugh, who came to collect the tray, noticed something was wrong. "Is—is something wrong, dear? Was breakfast not to your liking?"

"N-no," Annie stammered, afraid to meet her eyes, "breakfast was fine—it—it's just—where were my roses?"

"Oh, dear," Mrs. Pugh answered, taking her in her arms, "it's just since your father and Miss Farrell are getting married, they—they asked that the roses be used for the wedding. I'm sure Gardner didn't mean to snub you. He's terribly fond of you," she added, hoping that would be of some comfort.

"Okay," Annie sighed, wanting so to believe her. She and Gardner were starting to become the best of friends, and she still couldn't understand why he could just forget their arrangement! When she went out, she glanced at the newly pruned rosebushes, tears rolling down her face.

The day of the wedding, she stood patiently as Cecile and some of the other seamstresses put the final touches on her junior bridesmaid's dress. Just as they finished and helped Annie off the pedestal, there came a knock at the door.

"Come in," Cecile called.

Annie would hardly have recognized him, for there stood Gardner, all cleaned up! He looked especially dashing in his tux—a black suit with white shirt and bow tie!

"Annie," he whispered, coming over and taking her in his arms. "I—I heard. I—I am so sorry," he added, as the tears rolled down his face. "I know you love your roses, and I never meant to frighten you." Having dropped something on the nearby table, he retrieved it and handed it to her. "I—I hope you will accept this as a token of my deepest apology."

Annie felt her hand wrap around something. When she opened her eyes long enough to see what it was, she gasped—for there were her beloved roses in the basket she was to carry in the wedding!

"Oh, Gardner," she whispered, "and I thought…"

"…you thought I'd forgotten?" Gardner smiled sadly. "I guess it _had_ slipped my mind to let you know," he added. "Can—can you ever forgive me?"

The tears were freely flowing now, as Annie threw her arms around Gardner and held him close. "Of course I forgive you, Gardner!"

And not a moment too soon, for Drake soon came to collect her for the lineup. As she joined the rest of the wedding party, new tears—tears of joy this time—filled her eyes, because now she knew the truth. Gardner loved her so much—so much that he did everything in his power to make sure that little girl who won his heart was happy!

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss." Amid the cheers, Mr. Warbucks took Grace in his arms and gave her a loving kiss.

After the wedding and reception, the maids hurried to clean up. Meanwhile, those involved in the ceremony gathered for pictures. The photographer was about to put away his equipment when Gardner spoke up. "Is there time for one more?" An awkward glance was the reply, but the photographer was only too glad to comply. At that, Gardner kneeled by Annie's side and wrapped an arm around her. Just before the flash went off, he whispered:

"Annie, I love you so much. I meant what I said before: any of the flowers are at my disposal, and if you ever change your mind about what you want, let me know. I promise," he added, squeezing her hand, "I won't make any more changes without letting you know." Just as he leaned in to kiss her cheek, the flash went off! The days may have had their ups and downs, but all in all, Annie (and Gardner) wouldn't trade any of it for the world!


	2. Chapter 2

When the new Mr. and Mrs. Warbucks had been home from their honeymoon for some time, they were walking with Annie in the garden. Gardner was out tending to some flowers when they passed. "Good to have you home, sir, ma'am," he said, with a nod to them all.

But it was Annie who caught his eye next. "And how are you?" he asked. Annie couldn't help noticing he had his hands behind his back. "What do you have behind your back?" she asked teasingly, trying to get a peek.

"You caught me, Miss Annie," he laughed, producing his hidden "treasure," for in his hands he held a fresh bouquet of cut roses—just the right size for her bedside vase!

"They—they grew back?" Annie couldn't believe her eyes. After the days of wondering if he'd forgotten their arrangement because he had other flowers sent, she went back to having just been adopted by :

_"Yesterday was plain awful._

_"You can say that again._

_"Yesterday was plain awful._

_"But that's_

_"Not now._

_"That's then!"_

"Annie?"

She came back to the present when Grace and Mr. Warbucks kneeled by her side. "What do you mean, 'they grew back'?" Mr. Warbucks asked.

"Oh, Daddy, Mama," Annie sighed, "it's just that Gardner had made arrangements with Mrs Pugh and Drake to have fresh roses for my breakfast tray… when I started seeing others, I was afraid he'd forgotten me… how was I supposed to know…"

Grace and Mr. Warbucks looked at each other, finishing the sentence in their thoughts: "_…that we needed them for the wedding._"

Grace was the first to speak, holding her close to her breast. "Oh, baby," she whispered, "why—why didn't you say something?"

"If we'd known," Mr. Warbucks added, joining the warm embrace, "we could've spared enough to get you through."

Tears welled in Annie's eyes. Of course she should've told them—not that she didn't trust Mrs. Pugh, but since they'd been the ones who asked for them…

"Don't cry, sweetheart," Mr. Warbucks said, wiping her tears away. "To tell the truth, we're the ones who should apologize to you—we probably should've let you know what was going on."

"If anyone should apologize, sir, ma'am," Gardner said, facing Mr. Warbucks and Grace, "it should be I—for not letting you know about our little arrangement with Annie. I just wanted to do something nice for her to express my happiness that she's here for good."

"Don't worry," he said, turning back to Annie. "The roses will reappear first thing tomorrow morning."

Annie woke the next morning to a soft knock at the door. "Breakfast," was Drake's call.

"Come in," was her reply.

When the door opened, there was no vase on her tray. Annie was aghast, thinking lightning had struck twice. Little did she know someone was following close behind—Gardner. Only when Drake set the tray before her did she got a good look at Gardner. He was carrying not a little tray-sized vase of roses, but one almost big enough to cover the whole nightstand!

"Gardner!" Annie laughed. "You—you didn't have to bring one _that_ big!"

"We love you so much, Annie," Gardner said, stroking her face, "that you deserve better than we were to you the last few weeks before the wedding. There's no excuse for leaving you out of the loop."

And so it was… the nightstand roses wilted and the vase was removed, but from that day on, there was a little vase of roses on Annie's tray, a little bigger than the last ones, for now she knew—despite having "borrowed" them for the wedding, her parents, Gardner, Drake, Mrs. Pugh—they would all do anything to make sure she knew she was loved!


End file.
